


I love you (but I don't want too)

by Kittyhawke56



Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26080063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittyhawke56/pseuds/Kittyhawke56
Summary: Detective Kat Langford doesn't want to be in love with Unit Bravo's prickliest member, and is trying her damnedest to make sure that doesn't happen. Unfortunately her heart has other plans.
Relationships: Female Detective/Mason (The Wayhaven Chronicles)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 44





	I love you (but I don't want too)

The evening air was cool against detective Katherine Langford's bare shoulders, welcome after the day's oppressive heat, though promising a chilly night. She leaned her back against the crumbling brick by the warehouse entrance. A crisp breeze rustled through the surrounding trees, tickling her with the ivy growing rampant on the wall. There was just enough heat left in the bricks that it was comfortable, but that breeze made her wonder if she should have brought her cardigan out with her. 

Nothing was going to get her back inside to grab it.

Not with Adam's stony disapproval. _Especially_ not since she might run into _him_. 

When Tane had gotten a hold of her, asking if Unit Bravo's peculiar human wouldn't mind an evening out, she jumped at the chance. The cycle of going to the station, then back to the warehouse, had begun to grate on her nerves. Not that she didn't enjoy the company of the four vampire agents, but she was used to doing her own thing of an evening. 

It also didn't help that the constant struggle was getting more and more tiring every day. She wanted Mason so much it was almost a physical pain, and as much as she tried, she couldn't seem to keep away. Unfortunately, it seemed, neither could he.

After yet another trapper attempt the day before, it had taken Nate and Kat's combined persuasion to convince Adam that she'd be safe enough with Tane. The team leader had been trying to send one of Unit Bravo with her, which was the last thing she wanted. It was supposed to be a date after all. If the werewolf agent couldn't keep her out of trouble, having a vampire tagging along probably wouldn't help much.

Felix had been absolutely no help whatsoever. Kat had suspicions that he'd wanted to tag along, for gossip fuel or just his own amusement; she wasn't sure. He'd given up when she'd threatened to deny him access to her gaming system next time he went home with her. 

Another thought drifted through her mind, an image of stormy grey eyes and a fierce scowl. She frowned at herself, not remembering seeing Mason all day. It was decidedly odd. Usually, she couldn't turn around without tripping over him unless he was out on patrol. She felt his absence keenly, though she tried not to.

The light breeze drifting lazily through the trees did not quite mask the sound of a vehicle approaching. Kat shoved thoughts of Mason out of her head as a familiar car pulled up to the chain. Parked next to her well-loved, but definitely worse for wear silver hatchback, Tane's sleek black sports car gleamed. A smile settled onto her lips when the engine cut, and the welcome, tattooed face of Tane appeared over the top. His teeth flashed white in the evening's gloom when he spotted her.

"You ready to go, Kitten, or do I need to 'check you out.'" He winked at her, grinning.

Kat rolled her eyes at his flirting, but couldn't help the grin spreading to match, "I'm sure Adam would rather you do all of your 'checking' elsewhere." 

"Ah, well, let's get elsewhere then."

Kat pushed off the wall and toward the waiting car, not noticing the shadowy figure watching her from the roof. 

Or the way Tane's eyes flicked past her to settle on it before he slid back into the driver seat.

* * *

Hidden in a deep shadow on the roof of the warehouse, Mason watched the detective slide into Tane's car. Watched as she turned to Tane with a grin, saying something he couldn't hear. 

He was intimately familiar with that look, a shy, slightly sly one. It was flirtation in a way absolutely unique to Kat. 

Mason found he didn't care for that grin when it was aimed at someone else. 

Kicking at a loose shingle, he fished in his pocket for his lighter and cigarettes, suddenly not caring if either of them knew he was there. It didn't matter anyway. He'd only come out to get some air; he hadn't intended to find the detective. Certainly hadn't meant to see her off, even from the shadows. 

He finally grabbed a cigarette and popped it between his lips. Below, Tane's stupidly overpowered sports car revved up. 

_Stupid wolf must be compensating for something_ , Mason thought uncharitably as he huffed the cigarette to life. A wave of irritation washed over him as he watched them drive away, and he frowned, not sure why he cared at all. 

* * *

Kat looked skeptically up at the bowling alley's bright neon lighting, then back to the broad-shouldered, tattooed man towering next to her. She wasn't particularly short, just slightly under average, but she felt tiny next to Tane. 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked, "Won't it be a bit overwhelming?"

Tane shrugged, "I like the food, and I don't do sitting still very well." He glanced down at her, "Besides, not a vampire. I don't have to worry quite as much about overstimulation as your other friends."

Pursing her lips, Kat admitted, "It's been a while since I've gone bowling, and I was never very good at it." 

His warm chuckle felt like fingers tracing down her spine. Kat shivered at the sensation, and her breath caught in her throat when he leaned down to murmur into her ear.

"I'll just have to teach you some tricks, then Kitten."

His hand settled onto her waist, and he ushered her into the warm, noisy building. 

The carpet inside was awful; in that way, only old bowling alleys can be. Black lights made the neons in the pattern shine as if they had a light of their own, while overhead bassy pop music pounded out through speakers. The smell of delicious fried food hit her like a wall. The brief sensory overload body-slammed her straight back to high school, memories of evenings spent here. Happy times away from an all too quiet house. Time spent in a warm company with laughing friends. 

She glanced down and to the side, letting out a huff of laughter when she spotted a slightly melted section of carpet—the result of a dare gone wrong. 

Tane looked at her, brow raised in question, and Kat pointed out the spot.

"They haven't changed anything here in years, it's exactly like I remember it." She grinned up at him and bumped him with a shoulder, "Let's go get our shoes."

Fortunately, the bowling alley was not very busy. There was a group of teens taking up a couple of lanes in the middle. To one side, a group of rowdy children chased each other while a couple of beleaguered looking adults tried to reign them in. Through a beaded curtain on the other side, there seemed to be more of a crowd at the connected bar, though, and for a brief second, Kat thought she caught a glimpse of dark hair and grey eyes in the crowd. They were gone when she looked again. 

Beside her, Tane's head tracked to her, then followed her gaze toward the bar. 

"Someone you know?"

Kat shook her head, not wanting to let him know what she thought she'd seen. Who she thought she'd seen. This was supposed to be a date after all, and she wasn't about to let her foolish heart get in the way of it. 

Grabbing the shoes from the counter, she shot Tane a blinding smile. "Let's go find our lane."

The lane they got was far enough away from the other occupants of the alley that it was almost private. Well, private as long as no one else there was supernatural. Though maybe, Kat considered, the overhead music and general chatter would keep even someone with supernatural hearing from eavesdropping. Not that it really mattered, she supposed, from the way the person behind the counter watched her and Tane. Kat figured there would be plenty of new gossip about Wayhaven's only detective tomorrow. 

She settled into a nearby table, an eye on Tane where he loomed over the counter ordering food, unsurprised at the way the teenager taking his order leaned away a bit. It would have honestly been more surprising if he'd somehow managed not to loom, the man was so tall, and he was nearly twice as wide as the kid. Idly, Kat thought she could easily sit on one shoulder and not inconvenience him in the slightest. It was an amusing image, and she couldn't help smile at it. Tane caught her looking and grinned back, winking. It didn't have the effect she was expecting, though. No jolt of pleasure, no flush of excitement, just a mental image of another set of lips twisting into a far more wolfish smile. 

A stab of guilt had her turning back to the table. Ruthlessly shoving aside any thought of Mason. The whole point of this was to try and get over him, not bring him along, even if it was only inside her head. 

When Tane finally joined her at her staked out table, he brought a heaping tray of food with him. He shrugged a bit defensively when she raised her brows at him.

"What can I say? We need a lot of food." He grinned at her again, "I'm more than willing to let you take a bite or two, though." He exaggeratedly waggled his brows, and Kat's previous thoughts of Mason fled as she laughed. 

"I guess I've just gotten used to eating around the vampires. Nate's the only one who ever eats normal food, and sometimes I think it's more to keep me company than anything." She wrinkled her nose, "Felix straight up leaves if what I'm eating is too smelly."

Tane let out a blast of laughter that caused a small bubble of silence around them as people stared. Ducking his head briefly, he said, "We've got to get you out of the house more often then." 

The comment had Kat rolling her eyes again, "Yeah, you try telling that to Adam. Between working with the unit and my actual job, I barely have time anymore." She reached for a fry out of one of the heaping baskets between them and bit into it. "And with the increased number of things going on here, they've set up a rotating 'detective watch.'" She grimaced and shoved the rest of her french fry into her mouth, "I feel like I'm being babysat every time I have to take one of them home with me. I've been staying out at the warehouse lately just so I can stop having a vampire follow me around like a stray dog." 

Tane lifted an eyebrow, leaning forward across the table, and Kat could feel her face coloring when he said, "would you rather have someone else follow you around, a stray wolf perhaps?" 

She ducked her head down to hide behind her bangs, suddenly uncomfortable with his closeness, and the way his voice had dipped with suggestion. Somehow it had been more comfortable from across the room.

 _Flirt back_ , she urged herself, _flirt back, he's right there, do it. It would be easy, you're attracted to him, he's obviously into you._ But she couldn't. 

A lump was trying to form in her throat. When she finally managed to look back up, she found Tane looking at her, head tilted, and brown eyes narrowed in examination. 

"This isn't working as well as we were hoping, is it," he finally said quietly. His voice was soft and unaccusing.

Kat slumped, unable to hold his eyes. "I want it to work out," she said, the plaintive note in her voice made her cringe internally. Sighing, she looked back up across the table, meeting his eyes. "I'm sorry, I..." she trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

There was an understanding on Tanes face Kat did not like. 

"Poor lost little Kitten," he said as he reached out and gently ran his thumb over her cheek. "You've really got it bad, don't you." 

She ducked her head again, "I don't know what you're talking about."

He let out a tiny huff of a laugh, "you can't lie to me, you know. I can smell it when you do." 

With a sigh, Kat rolled her eyes. This was apparently something she would have to get used to if she planned to start hanging out with more supernaturals. 

"That gets really old really fast, you know," she huffed.

Tane chuckled, "Get a better poker face." 

Kat wrinkled her nose at him, and he did it right back at her, finally bringing a smile to her lips. 

Tension eased from his broad shoulders, and he smiled back at her. He leaned back against in his chair. "You know, I've known Mason for," he shrugged slightly, "well I've known him for a long time, and in those many, many years I've never seen him get so," he paused, gesturing expansively, searching for the words, "I've never seen him get territorial with anyone." 

Kat wrinkled her brow. "what do you mean?"

Shrugging, Tane shoved a couple french fries into his mouth. "Honestly, I have no idea what could be up with him. You know he was on the roof when we left, right?" He chuckled at the confusion on her face, "I guess not." 

Irritation and hurt tumbled around in her head briefly. The idea that Mason had been out there, staying away but still watching confused her. He wouldn't have been out there just because of her. He'd been avoiding her recently. _Kind of,_ she thought, _you keep running into him every other time you turn around. He just hasn't been as noticeable._ It was an uncomfortable thought, though, why the un-Mason like behavior? Why would it really matter to him what she did? There was no agreement between them, so why did the thought of him watching while she left with another man fill her chest with guilt?

"Adam must have made him go stand watch to keep an eye out for trouble," she said quietly, receiving a noncommittal grunt from Tane. 

"Look, can we stop talking about what might or might not be happening with Mason?" she asked, balling her fists on the table. "I came out with _you_ tonight, and I want to enjoy your company." 

Tane reached over the table and covered one of her hands, making her jerk her eyes back up to meet his. They were nice eyes, a brown so dark they were almost black, with little crinkles at the corners when he smiled. She tried to smile back into those eyes, calling on her considerable charm to alleviate some of the remaining tension of their conversation. 

His smile grew. "Of course, Kitten. Just because you've got a vampire on the brain doesn't mean I'm going to give in that easily." He slid his hand into hers and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, "I can at least show you a good time." 

The rest of the evening passed very pleasantly. Tane showed every indication of enjoyment, trying to show her ways to improve her form, to very little success. He wasn't much better at bowling than Kat, though she wondered if he held back for her amusement. Light banter and teasing flowed between the two of them easily, as if they had been friends for years instead of only getting to know each other recently. 

She won twice.

Before they stepped back outside, Tane dropped his coat around her shoulders. When she looked back up at him, he shrugged, "It's gotten a bit chilly, and you don't have anything to wear." 

"Won't you be cold?" she asked, tugging the coat further around her. It reached nearly to her knees.

With a chuckle, Tane shook his head. "You have been spending too much time with the vampires. Not all of us have problems with the cold."

Back at the warehouse, Tane walked her to the elevator, picking her up in a rib crushing hug when she went to kiss him on the cheek. 

When he finally let her feet touch the ground again, she was laughing. She took off his jacket and handed it back to him.

"Thanks for this, tonight was lovely."

He inclined his head slightly, "Any time, Kitten, all you need is to ask." 

With another nod, he turned to go, leaving her laughing slightly. 

She was still smiling when the doors of the elevator dinged open to the comfortable hallways of the warehouse's living space. 

Navigating the now-familiar labyrinth still took several minutes. About halfway to her room Kat became aware of someone walking behind her. 

It was Mason. 

Somehow she knew it was him before she even turned to look. 

Still feeling light from her enjoyable evening, she smiled over her shoulder at him, faltering a bit when he sneered at her, making a show of sniffing. 

"You reek of dog," he said, voice dripping disgust. "Did you enjoy letting him paw at you?" 

She turned to face him fully, mouth open in surprise. "What?" she asked, not sure she'd heard him right.

Mason took a step toward her, till there were mere inches between them. Leaning over to take a breath close to her throat. "I can smell him all over you, sweetheart must have been a good evening."

Taking a step back, and trying not to feel as if she were retreating, Kat frowned up into his sneering face. "It was, not that it's any of your business." She narrowed her eyes at him, Tane's words from earlier coming back to her. "Why do you care what I do or who I do it with?" 

Mason smoothed his face back to his usual smirk, "I don't. I really don't." 

His answer wasn't surprising, but it stung anyway. 

"Good night, Mason." Kat sighed and turned to keep trudging to her room, the last of the lightness from earlier dissipating. She wasn't expecting him to follow. He did anyway, apparently not content with insulting her and draining the remnants of enjoyment from her evening. She could feel his gaze boring into the back of her neck. 

"You never answered my question, sweetheart," she could hear him sauntering behind her.

Closing her eyes, she sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm tired, Mason, it's been a long day, and you're not helping." 

Sher didn't need to look to know he had that stupid, infuriating smirk on his face. It was evident in his voice, dripping with sarcasm. "Must not have been that good after all. Not that you'd know a good time." He lowered his voice, "Who was it before Tane, that stupid reporter?" 

Kat whirled on Mason, a seething mass of hurt and anger burning in her gut. He just had to bring in Bobby, to remind her of painful past mistakes. She just wanted it over, wanted to stop needing him all the time. Wanted _him_ to stop wanting her.

"Fine," she snarled, "let's do it then. Your room, or mine?" 

"What?" he stumbled over the word, confusion scrawled openly across his face at her change of subject.

She stalked towards him, hands fisted tightly by her sides. "Let's do it—my room's right there. We don't even have to go that far. It's what you want, isn't it?"

Bewildered, Mason retreated a couple steps from the advancing detective. Backing down the dark hallway as if pushed by the force of her emotion.

"I don't," He faltered, then tried again." Kat, what are you on about?" 

There were scant inches between them when Kat stopped. She could feel herself shaking, from anger or something else, she didn't know. Turning her face up, she glared directly into Mason's eyes and hissed, "Fuck me, Mason." 

His brows shot up, nearly disappearing into this hair, an unlit cigarette nearly falling from his lips as he gaped at her for a brief second. The moment didn't last very long, and his customary smirk settled back over his mouth. There was a stormy cast to his grey eyes, though, giving away the mask for what it was.

"Well then," he drawled, "Nice to see you're finally coming around, sweetheart."

Kat snarled at him, a bit gratified to see him flinch. The despair massing in her gut was trying to climb out her throat, so she clung to her fury. Knowing with absolute certainty, if she let it slip, the anguish would consume her, and there would be no stopping the tears threatening at the corners of her eyes. 

She spat the next words at him through clenched teeth, "Just do it, get it over with, then you can leave. Me. The fuck. Alone." 

Mason rocked back on his heels, looking for all the world as though she'd just slapped him. An expressionless mask slammed over his face a fraction of a second later, and he took another step backward as Kat advanced on him again. 

A mirthless laugh fell from her lips, and she shook her head, "It's what you wanted, isn't it? To 'get under my skirt, ' right?" Her chest felt like it was caving in, vision growing blurry as she lost ground against the impending tears. 

"Then you can move onto someone more interesting, stop tormenting me." She had to stop for a gulping breath, "I'm so tired of this, Mason." The lump in her throat threatened to choke her, and she had to stop talking. She took several deep breaths, trying to stay afloat on the ocean opening up beneath her, ready to consume her whole. Somehow it felt like if she cried, he won.

Mason ducked his head, dark hair falling to shield his eyes as he lit his cigarette. Concentrating on the task to avoid her eyes. Silence descended between them, very different from the usual peace they shared. This was smothering, suffocating. 

Finally, Mason let out a stream of smoke, veiling his features as he spoke. "I make it a point to only have sex with people who give me enthusiastic consent. And this," he gestured in her direction, "this doesn't count." 

Kat's anger from before came rushing back in a tidal wave of disbelief. She gaped at him. "Nothing but flirting, innuendo, and propositions since I met you, I finally offer what you're after, and you turn me down?!" Her voice rose till she practically shouted the last words. "Do you think I've been enjoying it? Having everything I can't have dangled in front of my face for months, and now I'm giving in nothing?" 

Face impassive, Mason withstood her tirade, quirking an eyebrow when she finished. 

"No," he said, another stream of smoke curling from his lips, "It's just no fun if you give in so easily."

* * *

It was the wrong thing to say, Mason knew as soon as the words left his mouth. They punctured the tension she'd been holding, draining it away and leaving her looking small and lost in the middle of the hall. 

They stared at each other for several long, ragged breaths. 

Mason opened his mouth, unsure what to say, but suddenly desperate to say something, anything. 

Before he could formulate thoughts into words, Kat had turned her back on him. 

Not before he'd seen the gleam of tears in her dark eyes, though, and heard the hitch in her breath as she moved away. 

"Kat," he called out softly, not knowing what else he could say, but feeling like seven kinds of bastard knowing he'd made her cry. 

She stiffened, pausing with her hand on the knob to her room. 

Mason moved toward her, hand outstretched a little, vaguely hoping to stop her leaving. But he had taken only two steps toward her when she spoke again. Her words stopping him cold.

"I hate you."

There was no lie in her voice, only a kind of fragile weariness. A simple statement of fact: the sky is blue, water is wet, I hate you. 

The words hit Mason like a physical blow, settling into his belly like lead weights. He stumbled a step, almost unable to hear her door close with a little snap of finality over the pressure of all the unfamiliar, unwanted emotions surging through him. 

"I hate you," her words seemed to echo in his head, "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." The awful, gentle way she'd said it stabbing into him again and again. 

And he'd made her cry. 

Which was almost worse.

He could hear her through the door when he'd stumbled to his knees in front of it. She didn't wail or make much noise at all, just huge gasping breaths and the occasional helpless sob. She cried like someone used to having to hide, used to be silent through the tears. 

Forehead pressed against the wood, Mason fought back, frustrated tears of his own. 

Suddenly he surged to his feet, whirling to stride away. Desperate to put some distance between them. 

Mason barely remembered getting to the training room, barely remembered wrapping his hands, until he found himself standing over a training dummy, thoroughly demolished. Chest heaving, he stared at the wreck of fabric and padding. 

He glanced around before setting up another one. Systematically shoving aside each emotion to deal with later as he pummeled the second dummy into oblivion. 

By the time Mason had gone through three of them, he'd still not made any headway, but he knew what he needed to do.

He turned and strode out the door to find Nate.

* * *

Warm light spilled from the kitchen doorway. Mason had to squint for a second while his overly sensitive eyes adjusted. He could hear Nate, probably sitting at the table with a cup of tea. The astringent scent made Mason's nose wrinkle in distaste. He had no idea how the other vampire could stand the flavor; it had always been too bitter for Mason. 

Nate didn't look up from the booklet of crosswords he was bent over when Mason stalked into the room and propped himself on the counter.

The silence stretched between them. 

Longer. 

Even longer.

Finally, Mason sighed, "You heard."

Nate gave a noncommittal nod, still not looking up from what he was doing. Mason groaned, pushing a hand through his hair. "I fucked up, Nate."

Finally, Nate looked up, a brow raised, "Did her shouting give it away? I don't think I've ever heard her that angry."

Mason winced. It had been too much to hope that no one else would have heard. Even as sprawling as the warehouse was, the sound carried, and when everyone else living there had supernatural hearing... 

He groaned again.

Nate finally turned to face him fully. "What happened," he asked gently, hoping to draw the problem out of his friend.

There was no accusation in Nate's voice, and it set Mason a bit more at ease. The tension he hadn't realized he'd been holding onto bled from him, and he sagged against the counter. "I don't know," he admitted, "I could smell him on her, and it made me so..." Mason shrugged, not sure how to put into words what he'd felt when she walked passed him, happy and smelling of Tane. It had been like a punch to the gut. All he'd wanted to do was lash out. 

And he had. 

Restraint had never been his strong suit. Not usually a problem, but this had been the worst time for it.

He scrubbed his hands over his face, "I don't know why it bothers me." The words came out muffled.

Understanding dawning in his voice, Nate said, "You're jealous." 

"What?" The word came out sharper than he'd meant it to, and Mason clamped his mouth shut before continuing through gritted teeth, "Why would I be jealous?" The pity in his friend's face sent a hot lance of irritation through Mason. 

"Don't give me that look," he glared at Nate, "being jealous would mean I'd have to care, right, which I don't."

Nate's expression didn't budge when he said softly, "Don't you?" 

"Of course not," Mason retorted out of habit. He paused for a moment then, thinking. "I don't think so," he let out another groan, "maybe? I don't know".

Face still in his hands, he mumbled, "I made her cry, Nate." He took a deep breath before continuing, "She said she hates me." The words came out so quietly, even Nate's supernatural hearing almost missed them. Mason looked up devastation in his eyes. "She meant it, too. And that, it matters to me, and I don't know why". 

There was an agony in Mason's voice Nate had never heard before, and he looked over his friend in surprise. He let out a long breath, not quite a sigh, and stood to put a hand on Mason's shoulder. "I wish there was a way to make this easier for you both. The best I can do is tell you that she might be angry with you right now, but she doesn't hate you. Whatever there is between you is hurting you both," Nate let his hand drop from Mason's shoulder as the other vampire hunched in on himself. 

Nate examined his friend again for a moment, "Go talk to Kat in the morning after you've both had a chance to cool down a bit." 

The glare Mason leveled at Nate would have had anyone unfamiliar with him taking a step back, but Nate only raised a brow. "You came to me, you get my suggestions. What you do with them is up to you." 

Mason held his glare for a moment, then nodded. Shoulders still slumped, he shoved off the counter and turned to go.

Nate's parting words sent a strange prickle of fear up Mason's back.

"I do know this though, if you leave this hanging, she _will_ come to hate you eventually." 

* * *

A soft knock at her door made Kat flinch. She froze in her hunched position on the bed. It wouldn't be Mason. That left Felix or Nate; she'd bet her entire year's salary that Adam would stay out of it, even if he'd heard. And none of them could have _not_ heard. 

"Hey, in there, need a rescue?" 

It was Felix. Kat wasn't sure she wanted to open the door, even to one of her best friends. Felix could be a lot at the best of times. 

"Door's not locked, might as well come in." She hoped her voice didn't sound too husky, but she knew how she must look. There was never anything pretty about the way she cried, her face turned blotchy, her nose ran, and no matter how good a waterproof mascara was, it never held up to that kind of abuse. 

Felix's worried face peered around her door, his lip caught between his teeth. This kind of thing was not something he was incredibly comfortable with, but he wanted to make her feel better. At this point, Mason could go hang for all Felix cared. 

"Is there anything I can do?" 

The question roused Kat a bit, and she blinked owlishly up at him. Her tired, sore eyes having a hard time picking him out from the darkness around them.

She turned on a table lamp, the warm little pool of light, making her blink a bit as her eyes adjusted. She turned back to Felix, whom, she noticed, had his hat in his hands, tying it into knots in his anxiety. 

"You're going to ruin it if you keep twisting it like that."

He glanced down, only just realizing he'd been holding it, and sheepishly jammed it back onto his tightly coiled hair. They looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity. 

Kat had cried herself out before he'd come knocking, partly from anger, partly from regret. Her own words twisted in her gut with Mason's, leaving nothing but misery behind. 

She felt hollow, and she wanted to be home. Not here in this imitation, but home. Where the worst that happened was a noisy neighbor. 

"I, she stumbled over the words, looking down, "I could use a hug, I think, and maybe a ride home"? 

Felix's arms enveloped her in a rib crushing hug. "I can take you home if you want, but I'm not driving that tin can of yours," he said into her hair, "We'll have to let Adam know too, so I can take one of ours."

Face buried against his shoulder, Kat sighed, "Nate, I understand, he barely fits, but what do the rest of you have against my poor car?" She pulled away from Felix and frowned up at him. 

He grinned down at her, "you're so perfect in every other way, we've got to have something to give you grief over." 

Kat rolled her eyes but couldn't help a small smile touching her lips. Felix's grin grew when he saw it. 

"There you are. I'll get you home. Everything will look a bit better in the morning. At least you don't have work tomorrow, right?"

Kat shook her head. Tonight's date had been supposed to kick off an enjoyable weekend, but now it was shaping up to be more of the ice cream and bad movie kind. At least she could count on Felix to keep her company. 

"Go tell Adam, I need to grab a couple things" she turned away, but before he could leave, she spoke again, "Felix. Thank you. I just-" she shrugged, "thank you."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" His voice was softer than usual, and it made another lump try to lodge itself in her throat. 

She nodded when she found she couldn't speak. 

* * *

The next morning found Felix and Kat sitting on her loveseat, eyes glued to the monitor of her laptop. 

Well, Felix was glued to the screen, Kat had fallen asleep against him. 

She'd nestled herself into his side when he'd flung an arm around her. They'd been like that for all of about two minutes before Felix heard her breathing even out and her heartbeat steady to a sleepy rhythm. Considering how much she'd been tossing and turning all night, Felix was a bit relieved to see her sleeping so peacefully now. 

Even if it meant his arm was slowly going numb. 

He shifted a little, trying to wiggle the offending limb into a more comfortable position without waking the sleeping detective. A sound in the hall outside her apartment made his head snap to the door. He listened like that for a moment before reluctantly nudging Kat awake.

"Mason's here."

She blinked up at him sleepily for a second, then straightened in a panic, wiping her hand over her face and trying to straighten her clothing, before giving it up for lost. She hadn't bothered to change out of her pajamas; the only thing she'd put on had been an old sweatshirt. It had holes in it. 

Felix watched her in amusement for a moment, "It's not like this is the worst he's seen you in." His amusement faded quickly, though, replaced with worry. "Do I need to distract him while you climb out the fire escape?" 

Kat stared at him, mouth open, for a second before she burst out laughing. "No, let's see what he needs and save that for plan B." She frowned down at her hands, forcing them to relax from where they'd knotted together in her lap. "We're all adults here, we can act like it. Besides," she said with a sigh, "I have some apologizing to do, too."

The frown creasing Felix's brow grew deeper, "What do you have to apologize for? From what I heard, he was pretty nasty." 

She shook her head, "I said some awful things to Felix, He's-" 

They were interrupted by a soft knock on the front door. 

Kat frowned at it, "You sure it's Mason? I didn't think he knew how to knock."

Felix put a dramatic hand to his chest in faux offense, "Are you doubting my superior senses?" 

She rolled her eyes and got up to open the door. 

Mason's grey eyes burned into her brown ones when she looked up at him, their fight from the evening before seemingly having no effect on the heat between them. They stood rooted to the spot for several long moments before Felix cleared his throat. Mason flicked his eyes over her shoulder to glare at the offending young vampire, who smiled brightly back. 

Without the weight of those eyes on her, Kat was able to step back, wordlessly allowing Mason entry. He looked back at her briefly, mouth open slightly, as though he were about to speak, but his eyes flashed back toward Felix again, and he closed it. 

He stepped in, passed her toward Felix, "Agent Langford needs you back at the warehouse."

Felix grimaced, and, with more tact than he usually showed, wordlessly asked if she would be okay with him leaving. Kat nodded, and Felix gracefully stood, grabbing his hat before striding out the door. He gave her a surreptitious wink on his way out. Dropping the keys for the agency vehicle, he'd driven the night before onto a table by the door. 

The front door clicked shut, and silence descended over her apartment save for the movie still running on her laptop. 

Mason stood in the center of the room, his back to her and his hands shoved into his pockets. Tension radiated off him, his shoulders hunched around his ears, and she thought he might crack if he moved. 

She wasn't sure he was breathing. 

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, "Mason, I-"

"I'm sorry," he interrupted, the words clipped. He relaxed somewhat when he'd said them, though, shoulders easing back down. 

Kat stared at him for a second, before letting out an amused breath and crossing to close the computer. Leaning over the coffee table, she let her own shoulders slump, "Me too." The admission fell easier once she couldn't see him. 

Silence stretched again, not as uncomfortable as the first. Broken by the sounds of Mason moving to the only shadowy corner of her brightly decorated living room. 

Kat loosed a long sigh as she perched on the edge of the couch, slouching forward with her elbows braced on her knees. 

She looked up at where Mason slouched against the wall. Hands still shoved deep in his pockets, dark hair falling in a curtain around his face, so it was entirely in shadow. She couldn't tell if he was looking at her or on the floor. 

She looked back down at her hands, "I," her hands clenched as she stumbled over her words. The thoughts getting tangled somehow on the way from her brain to her mouth. "Mason, what I said last night. I don't. I didn't..."

"I know." His voice was gruff, but there was no anger to it. His words surprised her into looking back at him, but he hadn't moved. 

She stared at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Sometimes, usually, when he was teasing or flirting, it was easy to read him. Other times he was a brick wall. Impervious. 

"We can't keep this up, Mason," her voice was small as she said it. A piece of her heart shattering with every word. 

His head snapped up, eyes like thunderclouds staring into hers, and she had to look away. 

Breath ragged, she continued. "This pull between us, it's overwhelming. But we're at such cross purposes, it's pulling us." She buried her face in her hands, barely whispering the rest, "It's pulling me apart." 

Another ragged breath, and another and she was able to look up again, only to find Mason standing beside her. 

She hadn't heard him move.

They looked at each other, Kat taking some solace that Mason looked nearly as lost as she felt. 

"What are we going to do?" she asked, "you don't want complicated, and I just want…" She let her voice trail off. 

To her surprise, Mason settled himself onto the couch next to her, not perched on the arm ready to spring off at a moment's notice. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him actually sit before.

A hand landed on her shoulder, she could feel the warmth through her sweatshirt. "What is it you want," he asked. Voice husky and coaxing in a way she'd never heard it. 

"Everything."

The admission came out as a whisper to her knees. She couldn't look at him, not with his fingers gently stroking her. Right over the place, Murphy had bitten her all those months ago. 

Eventually, she mustered the courage to turn and face him again, "maybe my original proposition is something worth looking into."

Mason was already shaking his head before she finished the thought. "I can't do that." He frowned, "I'm not sure once would do it anyway."

"And I'm not sure I could handle even once," Kat sighed, "I'm already halfway-" She stopped herself from finishing the thought, hoping he wouldn't notice.

A fool's hope, it turned out. His fingers paused their stroking. "Halfway what?" He went very still, waiting for her answer. 

She froze herself, afraid any movement would send him into flight like a wild animal. She shook her head slightly. 

But his fingers never resumed their stroking, and she finally gave in.

"In love. Halfway in love with you," she breathed, closing her eyes against whatever happened next.

The swift exit she'd been expecting never came. His fingers just tightened slightly before he let his hand drop into his lap with a sigh. When she risked a glance, he was staring down at it, flexing his long fingers slightly. 

He turned his head toward her slightly, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. "I don't love you." The statement fell between them like a wall. Kat drew in on herself, but he continued talking as though he hadn't just yanked the world from under her. 

"I don't know that I can," his eyes were drawn back down to his hands, "but I do know that I, I don't want to share you." 

Kat looked at him sharply, a frown drawing at the corners of her mouth, "that's not fair, Mason."

He shrugged, "I know, and it's my problem, not yours. I just." he shrugged again, falling into silence. 

They sat that way for several long moments, side by side, yet each wrapped in their own thoughts. 

Eventually, Kat sighed and leaned into Mason's side, laying her head against his shoulder. He gave her a surprised glance but settled himself so she could be more comfortable. 

"We're royally screwed, aren't we," she said with another sigh. 

Mason let out a snort, "or not, as the case may be." 

His comment pulled a reluctant laugh from her, and she bumped him with a shoulder. He let himself rock with the movement, smirking.

Then, to her surprise, he nestled his cheek against the top of her head, breath stirring her loose curls.

Silence wrapped around them again, companionable this time, and comfortable. 

Until Mason's phone pinged. 

Scowling, he sat up and dug it out of his pocket. Glancing at the screen, he said, "we're needed at the warehouse." 

Kat groaned, throwing herself back against the couch. 

Mason smirked down at her. "Much as I'm enjoying the just rolled out of bed look, you should go get real clothes on."

Reluctantly she stood, stretching arms above her head, Mason's eyes a weight on her back as she crossed the room. She was closing her bedroom door when he spoke again, so softly, she almost missed it. 

"Kat? We'll figure it out. It won't be like this forever." 

Glancing back over her shoulder, she met his eyes. "I know." 

Then she shut the door.

As she did, she caught the briefest glimpse of a genuine smile, curving his lips. 

**Author's Note:**

> This fic would not have come around if it weren't for all of the other lovely creators in this fandom who inspired me to get back into writing! Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
